Today was a beautiful day but now it seems to be getting ready to rain. which is OK cause the ground is pretty dry. I had a little fun at work yesterday cause I was training one of the girls who works in the storeroom to do my job. Our supervisor wants everyone cross-trained (so she doesn't have to work when someone calls off). I was supposed to train Dani again today but the new girl, the courier, called off. Something about her grandmother, I don't know the details. So Dani had to work in the storeroom while Nikki did the courier position. I checked my phone just before I was set to leave work and there was a message from my cousin saying that my mom was trying to get hold of me but couldn't cause the call wouldn't go through. I guess due to a poor signal. I had a weird feeling so I drove straight to my parents house and found out that my brother's BIL had died of a heart attack. He was only 63. He lived in this area so my brother (the one in Texas) and the twins are coming here Friday. My SIL flew up already cause it's her sister's husband. the visitation is Friday and the funeral is Saturday. It was completely unexpected and I know his wife and kids must be devastated. So I guess it's good that we had Easter last Sunday cause I know no one is going to feel like celebrating. I'm sitting here listening to "The Highwayman" by Loreena McKennitt. I can feel the approaching rain and once again, mortality has reared its unrelenting head.Cindy

"Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free; And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the rocks reach the sea.Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun. and cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done"--Loreena McKennit "In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers

Bluebonnets look a little like our lupines. Lupines come in that purply blue color and pink and white. The buds are blobs like your bluebonnets and then go up the stalk in progressive blooms. Your blue bonnets sure do give color to the hills. It is nice you can be in the country to enjoy the flowers.

I remember the spoons story being on here before but I reread it anyway. I am one of the those basically healthy people. I try to be conscious of how fast or far my friends who have nasties can go. It is hard when the illness does not show to know if it is a day of more spoons or less. hugs to all of you who live counting your spoons.

Today was a lovely afternoon. Temperatures rose into the fifties. The glaciers along the north side of the driveway are receding. We have not had many April showers. We have had April snows and will again this weekend the weather guessers tell us. But, the ground is thawing so the melting snow is filling up the water table for sure.

My mother loved azaleas. We had a corner of our yard that lit up a bright orange for a few days in the spring each year. Azaleas do not grow well up here. They require more protection than just a burlap bag for a snuggie in the winter.

GG, the pictures are beautiful! So sorry about your mom. I know you worry. At least if she is in the hospital, she is safe and eating better. However, historically, broken hips are bad news. I hope she can be comfortable for a while.

Holly, I hope you get some spring soon. I know the mud will not be so welcome.

Cindy, sorry for your loss. Big hug.

I am feeling a bit better. I spent the day taking care of my back. Hot bath and some stretching yoga along with Aleve helped. I should be much better tomorrow.

To all the Iris Goddess Sisterhood -- I am working on a month of gratitude for a merit badge. Today I had written down that I was grateful for light switches (we have been doing a huge remodel and it was getting to be a hassle to always have to use the breaker to turn the lights off and on). Today, reading your posts, I would like to add that I am grateful for my good health and the good health of my family. My folks are in their 80s and have some health issues, but so far we have been lucky enough to have them. They live in Idaho and I live in Pennsylvania, but I will be joining them for my 60th birthday in June -- so looking forward to that visit!

Sending e-hugs and wishes for comfort to all of you who are hurting physically and emotionally. Spring seems to help.

Farmgirl #6318"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight."

Greetings y'all! I am proud to be a member of The Goddesses of the Iris!!! GG...I feel your sentiments also!

Cindy........so very sorry for your families loss! My prayers are with you.

Bunny.....so glad to hear you are on the mend. But you need to be more careful, kiddo!

GG...this situation with your Mom is so depressing. Broken hip is not a good omen for her future. My Grandma had a broken hip and she was never the same....my Mom had to change her life to move with my Grandma and take care of her.

I appreciate this thread so much. This is the only safe place I have to complain about Lowell. He says I misrepresent him on this thread and I say, "SO EFFIN WHAT!". I know everyone here understands.

I just finished the Spring Break Academy at which I taught, or tried to teach, macramé. I had three students -- one got it right away and made the most progress, one worked well and went her own way, the other spent all her class time getting her cords on the stick and untangling them. It was all good. They received patterns on the last day and were so amazed at my generosity.

Bunny - I could use a head pad sometimes especially after I have drank a little too much. Thanks for the link to the spoons story. I believe that I have been losing spoons ever so slowly over the years starting when I was 14 and was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. I am so happy that you have steady work and that your dresses on your Etsy shop are selling.

OMG Marianne! You naughty lady! Guess I could use one of those too.

Such beautiful pictures of spring Gypsy. We are in the ugly part of spring here. The snow has melted and has exposed all the trash and dog poop. We have had a thunderstorm so the ground is warm enough to plant. So much work ahead of me.

I am afraid that we will all experience loss more often as we grow older. I am not certain how I will handle it.

So Ladies -- Tales from this silly workplace continue...One of our customers rear-ended someone the other day -- nobody hurt, thank goodness, but her car was totalled because the airbags had deployed, etc. So she calls up and wants to buy another car with her insurance settlement. We had something on the lot that was pretty much the same as her car, only a couple of years newer, and she has been pretty good about paying her bill and didn't owe much on the car she wrecked, so His Dudeness put together a deal for her. Of course, the more you do for some people, the more they expect you to do. She kept calling and calling, wanting this done and that done and just begging us to get the car ready because she really needed it for work. (She delivers pizzas for Domino's) So we rushed around yesterday and got her rims swapped from her old car and I came in to work early this morning to get the paperwork all ready so she could sign everything and be at work on time today. Before we were even in the door this morning, she had called leaving messages. The bank wouldn't let her cash the insurance check, it had to be deposited, would we let her take the car today and then she would bring the cash in tomorrow? Please, please, please. So okay -- we will trust her for a day -- she lives locally. Then we couldn't transfer the tag with the state from the old car to the new because there was "something" wrong with it -- of course she swore up and down that she had no idea what it could possibly be -- she has no tickets! So we had to redo the whole deal and reprint all the paperwork to show that she was getting a new tag......none of this is big stuff, but it just takes time and patience -- you know, going that extra mile for a customer. So after a good hour of messing about, we had her out the door and on her way.

Fast forward a couple of hours. Dude has gone to pick up our lunch from a local restaurant on this rainy day. Myself is conversing with another customer about his wife's really challenging health issues while taking a payment. The phone rings and I see that it is the gal from this morning, so I let the call ring to the machine. The message was priceless -- the car won't go into gear -- I think the transmission is bad -- I don't know where to find the radio knob -- (we drove the car for a couple of days to get it ready for state inspection and it's fine -- I drove it yesterday) so please give me a call as soon as you can ..... then before she hangs up, she calls my wonderful sweetheart and all-around Dude a VERY filthy two-part bad name! My head jerked up and my customer looked at me and said "Yep, you heard her right! That's what she said!"

So now we are waiting for her to stop by so Dude can run a scanner on the car and have a little discussion with her about telephone etiquette -- so glad I let that particular call ring to the machine!

Glad I am in a good place mentally today, because this isn't bothering me -- but I certainly am looking forward to hearing the conversation!!!! Here she is!

Farmgirl #6318"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight."

Marie, don't let Lowell critique or read what you write here. He is not a goddess. You are and your word about him is "truth" here. And sometimes these gentlemen cannot handle the truth. Even Jack Nicholson knows that. Keep this your safe place. You deserve it. Hugs.

GG, gorgeous wildflowers. I don't think landscapers can ever match Mother Nature's hand in pleasing the eye. You are in my thoughts, as is your mother. Please keep us posted.

Holly, I don't think I would be a very good Northern gardener. Tucking in plants for the winter wouldn't keep my attention. Your mother must have really wanted those azaleas. I just waited until I moved to the right climate! Of course, I figured EVENTUALLY I would be in the right climate considering how often we moved! wink.

This thread is also very important to me. And Marilyn, I am sure it will make your gratitude list at some point this month. My dh gave me a journal called The Five Minute Journal for Christmas. Each day starts with a usually pretty good quote. Each week there is a (usually lame) challenge. For instance, singing and dancing around your house. Doesn't everyone do that almost daily? Or strike up a conversation with a stranger. Try and stop me! Anyway, first thing in the morning, you list three things that would make today great. Three things you are thankful for and at the end of the day, you list three things that made today wonderful and one thing that you could have done to make it better. Usually, I just fill that in with Have More Patience. It has been a nice part of my day.

My MIL complains about not being able to do things as quickly as she used to. I would like to share the spoons story with her, but I think she would miss the point that we all have to learn to accept that we will slow down as we grow older, this story is about a very young woman having to very carefully choose what she can do each and everyday because of her illness. I mean, Mom is 88. Accept that you walk slower, get your seat belt on VERY slowly and take a bit longer to get ready in the morning! It is easy to see and understand why these activities take you a bit longer. But, this young lady didn't want to explain to everyone she met that she had to wear long sleeves that day even though the weather made it an unusual choice. And yes, she would attend your wedding because she wanted to share in your joy, but the reception would be just a bit too much for her and hope you are offended...

I had the very same thought about sharing your posts with Lowell! This is a "girls only" club. I remember my brothers and their neighborhood friends posting those "No gurlz aloud" signs on their clubhouses. Made me want so desperately to see what was going on in them. Probably nothing, but oh how I wanted to see. I have never been much on having a lot of girlfriends, but maybe it's that I am becoming more chronologically enhanced -- I value women so much more.

My delicate flower of ladyhood customer just came into the office. His Dudeness went out to drive her car a little bit and see if he could feel anything that she was talking about. She came in and asked if he had called about breaking down or anything. I looked her square in the eye and told her that in future, she should be sure she has hung up the phone before she cusses someone out and that I did not appreciate the foul language. At first she tried to deny having said anything, but I told her that my customer had heard the whole thing, so not to even start that. So then she started to apologize and I told her she owed Mr. the apology. She is back outside now. Doggone it! Who raises these people to think that it's okay to talk like that? Wolves, I guess. Sigh. Maybe I am just too old-timey for modern days.

Farmgirl #6318"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight."

List of stuff to try "someday": Making soap -- real soap, not the craft-store kind. Maybe laundry soap first. Finishing quilting alllllllll the quilt tops I have made (that ought to keep me alive for a good long while!) Cleaning up my dietary act to include more whole foods and organic foods. Learning to make a picot in tatting (never could get those loops to close). Learning to do better calligraphy (it's just so pretty). Making my garden really really pretty and keeping it that way. And zip-line. Okay -- maybe nuts, but I'd like to try it. Learn to drive the boat well enough so that my Dude can water ski instead of always having to drive the boat for everyone else to ski. I'm sure there are others. Does anyone else care to share?

Farmgirl #6318"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight."

In the past, Lowell would hover behind me when I was at the desk top and watch what I did while he was waiting to get on the computer to play chess with robots. He used to make comments and I would change stuff to keep him quiet but I would edit the posts and send them out anyway. Now that I have been relegated to the laptop, there is no room for him to hover and I can be free and open here. He asks me occasionally how you ladies are doing and I only tell him the good stuff.